Ensuring your fitness center appears in an internet search engine’s local business listing feed is one of the most important marketing steps you can take as a new gym owner. Your health club needs to be on the list when a potential member types in “gyms near me.” Here’s how to make sure you’ve got a shot at the top spot.
Which are the top business citation sites?
There are literally hundreds national directories, but you need to make sure your gym is listed in the top business citation sites. As well, your gym should be listed on top industry niches. Niches are highly targeted website directories. For example, “Bark,” a referral service for personal training services, is a niche directory. For a list of the top 50 citation sites, click on this blog by marketing website brightlocal. All this may seem a little daunting, but adding your health club to even a few of these directories will make it much easier for prospective members to find, engage, and join your health club!
How to claim a business listing on Google
It’s as simple as going to Googlemybusiness.com and setting up a free local business profile. Claiming your fitness studio profile is critically important, because Google business listings appear before organic search results, and this is one of the top ways individuals find local companies.
Here your listing itself becomes a small storefront. You can add photos, website address, logo, and all the important information people need to find and use your health club.
Insider tip to Googlemybusiness
- Update your profile regularly. Google cannot correct bad information. If your opening hours change at the gym, jump on the site and input the new times.
- Keep your fitness club’s information exactly the same everywhere you’re listed online. The way you write out your business name, address, and telephone number should be identical. Otherwise, Google will recognize these inconsistencies as individual companies. For example, don’t enter differences such as:
Fox Glove Boxing
Fox Glove Boxing, Inc.
- To make sure you appear on Google maps, verify your address with Google. To do this, go to Google maps and log into your account. Open “People & Sharing” under Business Features, click on “Add your business to Search and Maps,” and follow instructions to manage your business.
How to claim a business listing on Yelp
Yelp is among the top five business citation services on the web. You’re not a local gym business unless you’ve claimed your Yelp page. As on Google, upload photos and relevant business information, and build reviews that bolster your presence while staying super local in a customer’s feed.
Yelp for Business steps
- Log into your Yelp account on Yelp.com or go to www.business.yelp.com
- Click on Manage My Free Listing
- Enter your business name.
- Claim it if it shows; enter it if it does not
- Follow the steps to establish a presence.
Let’s make sure your new gym appears in search engine business listing feeds. Here’s how!
Add your business to Bing, too.
Although less ubiquitous than Google, Bing’s search engine is still one of the top four directories used by consumers worldwide. Owned by Microsoft and closely aligned with its advertising program, a Bing account lets you reach PC-dedicated or Android-based consumers whose devices do not automatically default to Google.
To claim your business on Bing
- Go to Bing’s Places for Business link at https://www.bingplaces.com.
- Establish a free Microsoft account to log into the management tool.
- Click on “New User.”
- Complete profile and verify listing.
- Remember to verify your business on Bing maps as well.
Other major directories
Expand your business’s reach by also claiming your business on DuckDuckGo, Facebook, and even Groupon. Just remember to establish a routine for updating information and responding to reviews.
Gym Insight
At Gym Insight, our gym membership software provides a clear, transparent picture into your company’s financials, and offers a platform from which to run your business effectively. Our software is built in-house, by fitness club owners. There are no cumbersome third-party plug-ins or complicated protocols, and it’s available for a single, low monthly subscription price — no hidden fees, no links to your payment processor. Call us today for a free demonstration on how we can lower your software management costs and free up time and capital.